Phonograph-motor



F. C. DOHRMANN.

PHONOGRAPH MOTOR.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 12. 1920.

1,358,426, Patented Nov. 9, 1920.

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PHONOGRAPH-MOTOB.

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Specification of Letters Patent. I :Pgtti ntQd Nam, 9, 192() Application filed. May 12, 1920. Serial No. 380,828.

To all whom it may concern. v

Be it lrnownthat I, FRANK DOHRMANN, a citizen of the Unitedstates, residing at New York city, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in il hono graplr-lllotors, fully described and represented in the following specification and the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the same.

This invention relates to phonograph motors and has for an object to provide a motor L which may be rewouud quicnly.

it iurther ObjG-Ct of my invention is to provide a motor oi great simplicity which may easily be constructed and is not likely to get out otorder.

.-. nonogiap 1 motors ieic 01016 user naie been wound by means of turning a crank projecl'ing on the outside of the cabinet. These motors are usually spring driven and require many turns of the crank to wind them up. T spring provided is usually of sufficient length to play several records after a single complete winding, but as the motor runs down the driving force ofthe spring decreases, resulting in a slowing down of the motor and a consequent flatting'otthe-notes. in order to reproduce tones properly, therefore, such phonograph motors must be kept continually tightly wound. There is, however, nothing on the phonograph to indicate how tightly wound the spring is when a record is placed upon the phonograph. llurthermore, the force necessary to wind up the spring varies constantly, increasing as the spring tightens, so that the person winding up the motor cannot, unless much more expert than the majority of phonograph users, tell exactly when the motor is completely wound up. I

The varying force which must be applied in winding :1 spring motor and the danger or" breaking the spring it the motor is wound a little too tightly, has made it impracticable to supply such motors with a, quick acting means for rewinding. V By my invention I have provided a motor which may be wound by a single movement in one direction of a handle projecting through the slot in the wall otthe cabinet.

One such winding is sufficient to enable the phonograph to play one record, and during the playing of the record a uniform driving force is at all times exerted by the motor.

The winning is performed so quickly thatit may easily be done each time that a record is placed upon the phonograph, and there is,

therefore, no possibility that the motor may slow down or stop during the playing of a record, as frequently happens in the use oi ordinary phonog "aph motors. V7 hen the de vice is used for playing short records, it may not. be necessary to wind the motor after each record. The extent to which the motor has run down in playing a record may be quickly observed by the position of the handle in the slot utter playing the record, so

that the operator may determine at a glance whether or not it is necessary to rewind or not before playing another record.

I have accomplished this result by combining with a quiclracting means for rewinding, a weight to drive the motor in place of the spring customarily used. By this means I have provided a motor which, besides producing a constant driving force for the pho nograph record, presents a constant resistance to the handle; in rewinding. I have found that a weight of approximately 20 pounds having a vertical travelof the length of an ordinary phonograph cabinet supplies sufficient power to play the longest records. 1 have combined with a weightdriven motor a quick acting means for rewinding which may be operated by a single movement against a uniform resistance. A stop is provided to limit the upward movement of the weight which serves also to limit the movement the rewinding handle and thus to indicate to the person operating the handle the exact point at which the motor is completely wound up, as it is merely necessary to move the handle against a constant resistance until the handle is abruptly rested. The mechanism which I have in vented, therefore, not only providesior quick winding, but also obviates the danger of incomplete winding or of breaking the mechanism which present in rewinding ordinary phonograph motors where the operator must judge for himself the exact point in an increasing resistance which indicates the proper degree of winding. 7

1 the cabinet.

In order that my invention may clearly be understood, T will describe in detail the specific embodiment of it shown in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a right side elevation of the motor and the turn-table of the phonograph showing part of the phonograph cabinet in section;

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig.1;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary left side elevation showing the winding ratchet and trip;

Fig. 1 is a front elevation ofrthe motor showing part of the phonograph cabinet in section;

Fig. 5 is a detail of the driving gear;

Fig. 6 is a detail of one of the ratchet Wheels;

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of one of the pawls; and

Fig. 8 is a right side elevation of the out side of the cabinet showing the handle and the slot through which it projects.

In the form shown in the drawings, the motor is supported by a frame 10 which may be made of a single casting and which is attached to the under side of the top of The motor wheel 11 has an enlarged hub portion 12 rotatably mounted upon a shaft 13 which is jonrnaled in two downwardly projecting elements 1% of the frame 10. Two ratchet wheels 15 and 16 are mounted upon the projecting ends of the hub 12and rigidly attached to the. motor wheel 11 by means of. a screw 17 passing through the ratchet wheel 15and the motor wheel 11, and screwed into the ratchet wheel 16. Upon the outer periphery of the teeth of the ratchet wheel 16 is mounted the driving gear 20. The inner edge of the gear 20 is provided with a plurality of sockets 21 in which'are seated pawls 22. These pawls are retained in the sockets 21 by the motor wheel 11 on one side, and on the other side by a plate 23 loosely mounted upon the shaft :13 between the driving gear 20 and the frame.

An arm 25 is rigidly attached to the shaft 13 by means of a set'screw 26. On the arm 25 a pawl 27 ismounted by means of a screw 28. This pawl has a rearward extension 29 which serves to trip the pawl and move it out of contact with the ratchet wheel 15 when the extension 29 comes in contact with a depending rod 30 attached to one of the depending elements 14lof the frame 10.

The outer end of the shaft 13' extends radially in the form ofa crank which lies close to the inside of the wall of the cabinet.

7 slot 37 in the wall of the cabinet.

At the end of the crank 35 is an offset por tion 36 which passes through a semi-circular The handle 38 forms acontinuation of the olfset portion 36. and. extends parallel to the wall of the cabinet on the outside thereof.

The means provided for driving the wheel 11 consists of'a weight 39 attached to a band 10 passing over the wheel 11 and hav of the weight when the hole 42 is vertical; so that the weight hangs so as not to bind upon the rod 11. A stop 13 limitsthe upward movement of the weight 39. The downward movement of the weight is limited by the bottom of the cabinet. The entire travel of the weight is equal to one-half the circumference of the wheel 11, so that this wheel makes a half turn over each complete descent of the weight.

Connecting mechanism. is provided for transferring the motion of the driving gear 20 to the turn-table 1 1 of the phonograph. It comprises a horizontal shaft 1-5 j ournaled in the depending elements 1 and the depending bracket 45, all of which form part of the frame 10. pen the shaft 45 is mounted a small pinion 47 meshing with the driving gear 20 and a large beveled gear 18 meshing with a small beveled gear upon the shaft 50 of the turn-table 1e.

relative sizes of the gears are such that a.

half turn of the driving gear 20 revolves the turntable 44: a sufficient number of times to play a phonograph record of the largest size commonly used.

A governor is mounted upon a shaft 56 placed at an angle to the top of the casing and supported by the frame 10. The shaft 56 bears a worm 57 which meshes with a gear 58 placed on the shaft 50 above the beveled gear l9. An adjustable friction brake such [as is commonly used in connection with phonograph governors may be placed so that the disk 59 of the governor 55 will contact with it when the speed of the turn-table exceeds a predetermined rate. The operation of the device described as follows :-Assuming that a record has been placed upon'the turn-table and that the weight 39 is at the upper end of its tray cl in contact with the stop a3 and that the brake or othermeans used to prevent rotation of the turn-table during the placing a record upon it is released the weight 39 will descend'along the rod ll turning the 7 wheel 11 and the two ratchet wheels-15. 16

in the drawings, the arm 25 will be in the position shown in Fig. 3, and the pawl 27 will be held out of engagement with the ratchet 15 by the contact of its rear portion 29 with the rod 30. If, however, the handle 38 is in any other .position in the slot 37, the

engaging the ratchet 15 turns this ratchet and the wheel 11 in an anti-clockwise direction, drawing the weight 39 upwardly until it engages the stop l3. The anti-clockwise movement given the ratchet wheel 16 in winding up the weight is not transferred to the driving gear 20 as the pawls 22 slip over the teeth of the ratchet 16 during this movement. When the winding iscompleted and the pull on the handle 38 released, one or more of the pawls '22 engage the ratchet 16, preventing the weight from descending until the turn-table is released.

If the weight 39 has made its complete travel during the playing of a record, the handle 38 must be moved from the back end of the slot 37 to the front end to eifect a complete winding of the machine. inding in this way takes but a moment and the force suflicient to raise the weight may easily be applied as the motion of the handle is in one direction only. If desired, the handle may be returned to the back end of the slot 37 after it has been moved to the front to wind up the weight, and in that case it will remain in the back end of the slot during the playing of the next record. In the movement of the handle to the back the arm 25 is given a clockwise movement, so that the pawl 27 slips over the teeth of the ratchet 15 without turning the wheel 11.

If, however, the handle is left at the front end of the slot after winding, it will travel to the right in the slot 37 as the weight de scends, so that its position in the slot will indicate the extent to which the motor is run down. Thus, if so short a record is played that the handle has not reached the middle of the slot at the end of the record, it can be at once observed that rewinding before playing a record of the same length is unnecessary.

Many modifications may be made in the apparatus described without departing from my invention. Thus the length and form of the slot 37 through which the handle projects may be varied, or, if desired, the slot may be done away with, and the handle crank placed outside the wall oft-he cabinet. Furthermore, the handle may, if desired, be arranged so as to be operated by the foot. What is claimed is? I i I; A motor for phonograph's, comprising a wheel, a weight supported by a band passing over said wheel and having atravel lessthan the periphery of said wheel, connecting mechanism between said wheel and the'turntable of "the phonograph adapted to turn saidturn-table a sutlicient number of times to play a phonograph record while the wheel makes less than a complete revolution, and a handle for rewinding the motor directly connected to the wheel. 7

2. A motor for phonographs, comprising a shaft within the phonograph cabinet, a handle attached to said shaft, motor wheel rotatably mounted upon said shaft,n1eans for driving said motor wheel, two ratchet wheels concentric with "said motor wheel and attached thereto, a driving gear concentric with said motor wheel and bearing pawls adapted to engage one of said ratchets, connecting mechanism between: said gear and the turn-table of the phonograph, an arm rigidly connected to said shaft and bearing a pawl adapted to engage the other of said ratchet wheels, and a stop adapted to prevent said pawl from engaging said ratchet when the handle is in one position.

3. A motorfor phonographs, comprising a shaft within the phonograph cabinet, a handle attached to said shaft and projectingthrongh a slot in the wall of the cabinet, amotor wheel rotatably mounted upon said shaft, means for driving said motor wheel, two ratchet wheels concentric with said motor wheel and attached thereto, a driving gear concentric with said motor wheel and bearing pawls adapted to engage one of said ratchets, connecting mechanism between said gear and the turn-table of the phonograph,

an arm rigidly connected to said shaft and bearing a pawl adapted to engage the other of said ratchet wheels, and a stop adapted to prevent said pawl from engaging said ratchet when the handle is in one end of the slot.

4:. In a motor for phonographs, a motor wheel, means for driving said wheel, a concentric ratchet wheel attached to said motor wheel, a concentric gear mounted upon the teeth of said ratchet and having sockets in its inner edge, pawls'in said sockets adapted to engage the teeth of said ratchet wheel when said wheel isturned in one direction, and means for preventing lateral movement of said pawls in said sockets.

5. A motor for phenographs comprising a motor wheel, a weight for driving said motor wheel, a driving gear having a ratchet connection with said motor wheel, connecting mechanism between said driving gear and the turntable of the phonograph, also with said motor projecting throngh a slot in the wall of the cabinet and adapted t0- rewind said motor by a single movement toward one end of said slot, and automatic means for disconnecting said handle from said motor when said handle is at the other end of said slot. Y

7Q {K711101303 for phonographs comprising a motor wheel, a weight for driving said motor wheel, a driving gear having a ratchet connection withsaid motor wheel, connecting mechanism between said driving'gear and the turntable of the phonograph, a handle,

for rewinding said motor Wheel, a ratchet and pawl connecting said handle and said motor wheel, and'automatic means for holdof connection with said iiig said pawl out handle is in a predeterratchet when the I mined position.

8. A motor for phonographs comprising a shaft within the phonograph cabinet, a handle attached to said shaft, a motor wheel rotatably mounted upon said shaft, means for driving said motor wheel, connecting mechanism between said motor wheel and the turntable of the phonograph, a pawl and ratchet adapted to transfer turning movement oi said shaft in one direction to said motor wheel, and a stop adapted to prevent said pawl from engaging said ratchet when the handle is'in one position.

9. In a phonograph having a cabinet, a weight driven motor within the cabinet, a connection between said motor and the turntable and the phonograph, a crank within 7 the cabinet and pivoted on an axis perpendicular to a' wall of the cabinet, a handle attached to the crank and projecting through a slot in said wali and adapted to rewind said motor by a single movement in one direction. i

10. In a phonograph having a cabinet, a

motor'wheel within the cabinet, a crank on which said motor, wheel is mounted per-' pendicular to a wall of the cabinet, a weight for driving said motor wheel, a connection between said motor wheel and the turntable and the phonograph, a crank on said motor wheel shaft lying within the cabinet, and a handle on said crank projecting through a slot in said wall and adapted to rewind the motor by a single movement in one cirection. p

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence oi two subscribing witnesses. V

FRANK C. DOHRh XANN.

lVitnesses 1 PETER J. MALLoN, LENA E. SMITH. 

